Snapshots
by IncestuousChinchillas
Summary: Fluffy Captain Swan oneshots of varying length
1. Chapter 1

1

Emma leaned over the side of the ship and stared at the stars as though they could give her an answer. A chill wind ruffled her hair, stroking its icy fingers across the back of her neck and causing her to shiver. She rubbed her arms and turned her face to the water lapping gently at the hull of the Jolly Roger. Much like the stars, it didn't tell her anything.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a heavy leather coat was laid around her shoulders and Hook's hand lingered just a moment too long on her arm. Warily she glanced at him sidelong and pulled the coat just a little bit tighter.

"We'll find Henry," Hook said, leaning next to her with his back against the railing and his eyes fixed on the sky. She looked at him quizzically and opened her mouth to respond. "It's not that hard to see what you're worried about, Swan. He's your son. Any mother in her right mind would be in a frenzy in your situation."

"Are you saying I'm not in my right mind because I'm not freaking out?"

His eyes finally met hers, dark and serious and without a hint of his constant mischief. "I'm saying you're very good at hiding it."

She sighed and looked away from him, to the wood of the ship where her hand traced idle lines along the grain. "I feel like I don't have the right to be worried, I've barely known him a year. If anyone should be in a frenzy it's Regina, and she's as calm as…."

"Doesn't matter, he's just as much your son as he is hers. You care for the boy just as much as she does, and you're his mother just as much as she is." She frowned and pressed harder against the wood. He reached out and gently wrapped his hand around hers, and she looked up to see concern. "Swan, I promise you we will find Henry. No matter how long it takes or how far we have to go or what we face in the process, I'll do whatever it takes to give you back your son."

She pulled away from him and crossed her arms, eyes going back to the sea. "Why do you care so much? I thought pirates only helped themselves."

He searched the stars for the right thing to say. A hundred responses ran through his head- because he owed it to Baelfire, because he wanted to see her smile, because he had seen Milah and knew how it hurt a mother to be separated from her child, because he cared about Emma, because perhaps if he saved her son she would see him as more than just a pirate, most of all because he was completely, utterly, wonderfully, terrifyingly, irredeemably in love with her, and he'd lay siege to the whole godforsaken island by himself if it meant she would be happy.

But all he said was, "Pirates do have honor, you know."


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Swan, please, I'm sorry, I thought-"

She turned around and he flinched backwards in anticipation of the verbal lashing he was about to get. "No, Killian, you didn't think. You didn't for one second think. You put Henry's life in danger- and for what, 'cool dad' points? You are so lucky he's all right because if one hair on his head had been hurt you'd have two hooks for hands."

"I swear on my life I never intended for the boy to get hurt, I told him not to but he wouldn't listen."

"Well then you should have been watching him! You're his goddamn stepfather!"

Killian sighed, knowing he'd lost this argument. She stormed away and he heard the door of the little yellow beetle slam shut.

"It really wasn't his fault, Mom." Henry tugged at a loose thread in his jeans. "He told me not to but I didn't think I'd get hurt."

"You jumped off a cliff and you didn't think you'd get hurt?"

He shrugged. "It didn't look high and it was into water. I forgot about the tide. I probably would have drowned if he hadn't jumped in, too."

She pulled away from the curb, fists white-knuckle tight on the steering wheel. "He shouldn't have had to in the first place. He's your stepfat-"

"Don't call him that. That makes it sound like he's not family. You know he hates it when you say that, and I do too." Henry glared at the errant blue string and tugged, failing to snap it free of his pants.

Emma sighed. "I know, I'm sorry."

"If you have to be mad at someone, be mad at me. I'm the one who thought cliff-diving would be a good idea."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, you're grounded for a month. You're not allowed to be alone in a room with Killian till I can be sure the two of you won't get into trouble."

"Deal."

Henry was doing homework when he heard the knock on his window. Upon opening the curtains he saw Killian crouched on the fire escape, and he opened the window to let the pirate crawl through.

"Did Mom deadbolt the door again?"

"Yes indeed." He tugged on his sleeves and turned to shut the window. After facing away for a moment, he looked back at Henry and sat on the boy's bed, patting the space next to him. Henry sat and fiddled with a paper-clip, staring shamefully at his hands. "I know you think you're invincible or something, but you're not. You can't just run about jumping off cliffs and doing whatever you like, you'll get hurt."

"But you do it," he protested stubbornly.

"Yes and I've only got one hand, what does that tell you?" Henry cracked a smile. "Listen, mate, I'm not always going to be able to save your hide, and if anything ever happened to you it'd be me facing the guillotine." Henry nodded. "Look at me, Henry." The fourteen-year-old grimaced and met his stepfather's eyes. "If you got hurt, or worse, your mother and I would be devastated. You can't go running off on every adventure that comes your way, because one of them will end badly and you'll end up losing a hand or a leg or something else. Think before you jump off anymore cliffs, mate, all right?"

"I will. I'm sorry." He hugged Killian around the waist, and the pirate wrapped his good arm around the boy.

"Right," Killian said after a moment, standing and adjusting his hook. "Let's see if I can talk your mum into letting me sleep in the house tonight, eh?" He ruffled Henry's hair and grinned.

Emma laid her head back and let the warm bathwater soak into her skin for one more moment before pulling herself up out of the bath and tugging the drain open. As the water gurgled away, she dried herself off and tied the towel around her. When she turned to the mirror, she jumped and let out a surprised yelp.

"How did you get in? I locked the door!"

Killian shrugged, grinning. "Henry's a bit kinder to me than you are, Swan."

She glowered and shook her head, picking up her hairbrush. "Go away, I'm still angry."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his chin on top of her head. "Oh you're not really angry with me, Swan." She swatted his cheek with the hairbrush and he grimaced. "All right maybe you're a bit upset."

"More than just a bit." She tugged at a knot in her hair, frowning.

He moved his good hand, leather coat and gloves long abandoned, up to her shoulder and gently stroked her skin. "If you were really angry I'd not be here right now." He kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry Henry decided to be an idiot, and I'm sorry I wasn't watching closely enough to keep him from being an idiot."

Emma sighed. "Apology accepted. It wasn't your fault." He smiled and kissed her shoulder, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "But you still should have been watching him closer." He hummed affirmatively and started to tug her back towards their bedroom. "But that doesn't mean you're not in trouble." He chuckled softly and picked her up bridal-style, kissing her quickly on the lips. She finally smiled and kissed him back.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Emma cursed quietly as the clasp of the necklace slipped out of her fingers once more, the braided gold falling to the ground. She knelt to pick it up, and when she stood, Killian was next to her, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and a light, cheeky grin on his face. She was briefly caught by the way his black vest hugged his trim waist, and he held out a hand towards her. "Need some help with that, Swan?"

She handed him the necklace and gathered up her hair, pulling it out of the way. He held one end of the clasp in his teeth and clipped the other on, then smoothed it down against her skin, his good hand travelling to her bare shoulder as he brushed his lips against the back of her neck. She turned her head just enough to meet his lips.

"You look lovely, Swan."

"Thank you," she replied with the smile he adored. "We should get going or we'll be late." He hummed in the affirmative and retrieved his suit jacket from where he'd tossed it on the bed. He took her hand, an act as natural and unconscious as breathing, and the two left.

The ceremony was beautiful- nary a dry eye in the whole church. It was the wedding of a close friend of Emma's from her work, a young stout woman with short blonde hair and a vibrantly cheerful attitude. The groom was a pointy-chinned lawyer of unimpressive height who could never quite tell the punchline of a joke right but was still well liked for his easygoing nature. Emma and Killian were fond of the two, and were glad to see them finally married.

At the reception, Killian proved his prowess as a dancer by twirling Emma around the floor with a wide, unfaltering grin. If he had looked away from her for a moment he would have seen other women pointing to him in attraction or amazement or jealousy, or just as a hint to the man they were with that he should definitely learn to dance like that.

Once the music sped up and colored lights started in, the two sat down off to the side, their fingers entwined as they seemed always to be. Emma ran her thumb idly across the back of Killian's hand and sighed. "I love weddings. There's just so much… life."

"Personally I could do with a bit more alcohol." She raised an eyebrow at him. "But it's great fun nonetheless." He brought her fingers to his lips, watching the crowd ripple and wave to the music. He looked down and furrowed his brow thoughtfully. All of a sudden he grasped her hand earnestly in both of his hands and turned to face her. "Swan, you love weddings."

"Yeah, I do. What are you getting at?"

"D'you want a wedding?"

She stared blankly at him for a long moment. "I- um, are you asking me to marry you?"

He blinked. "No, of course not. I wouldn't do it like this, Swan, what kind of man do you take me for? I'm just asking if it's something you'd want."

"Yes," she replied. She blinked at the ease of the reply- without thought or hesitation, just a yes. "I… yeah, it is. I'd want a wedding. Yes."

He smiled his broad, bright smile that he only ever smiled for her. "Then a wedding you'll have, love." He leaned in and kissed her sweetly.

She pulled away and said, "But I'm in charge of alcohol."


End file.
